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Space junk at tipping point, says report-Situation ‘critical’

Scientists in the US have warned Nasa that the amount of so-called space junk orbiting Earth is at tipping point. A report by the National Research Council says the number of leftover boosters, old satellites and clouds of minuscule fragments orbiting the Earth could cause fatal leaks in spaceships or destroy valuable satellites. It calls for new international regulations to limit space junk and more research undertaken into the possible use of launching large magnetic nets or giant umbrellas. Some computer models show the amount of orbital debris “has reached a tipping point, with enough currently in orbit to continually collide and create even more debris, raising the risk of spacecraft failures,” the research council said in a statement released Thursday. (via BBC News – Space junk at tipping point, says report)